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Does anybody know how SOX compliance is audited? I assume you have to file
documents X, Y, Z, etc by certain defined dates. But who on the regulatory
side evaluates the contents of the documents to certify that they are
compliant?
- - - - - - - - - - - -
1. It is similar to the way all financial audits should have been conducted
in the past. Qualified independent third-party auditors must perform the
audits. The auditors will typically be very experienced and (probably) work
for a large organization. The auditing organization must provide a signed
written opinion about the financial report. Here, the keyword is
INDEPENDENT.
2. In addition, certain corporate officers must affirm the accuracy of the
financial information. One purpose of Sarbanes-Oxley is to ensure there will
be appropriate policies and procedure in place to justify this affirmation.
Another purpose of the Act is to provide harsh penalties for lying corporate
officials, for example, ten years in prison.
3. The SEC recently gave large firms until Nov. 15, 2004 to be in
compliance. Smaller firms have until July 15, 2005.
4. SOX compliance represents a major financial commitment on the part of
each company. Knowledgestorm estimates $2 million USD as the cost for a
large company to implement SOX.
4. Lisa Wright referenced the January issue of STC's Intercom. I would add,
the URL included in Holly Harkness' article includes several relevant URLs.
One of the most useful provides an excellent starting point to learn about
SOX.
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